How to use the Gmail Vacation Responder agent skill

What does the Gmail Vacation Responder skill make the agent do?

The skill is a recipe, a short set of instructions that tells an AI agent how to perform one task. Its task is to set up an automatic out-of-office reply in a Gmail account. The recipe is built on the gws command-line tool and relies on the gws-gmail skill for Gmail access.

The recipe has three steps: enable the vacation responder with a message you choose, verify that the settings took effect, and disable the responder when you return.

• Enable the vacation responder with a custom subject and body text.
• Read back the current vacation settings to confirm them.
• Turn the auto-reply off when you are back.

What do you need before installing?

The skill needs three things. Without them, the commands will fail.

• The gws command-line tool installed and authenticated with a Google account.
• The gws-gmail skill loaded, because this recipe depends on it.
• A Gmail account with permission to change vacation responder settings.

How do you install the skill?

Download the ZIP file for the skill from this page and unzip it. The skill is delivered as a folder containing SKILL.md. Put that folder in one of these locations:

• Your personal skills folder: ~/.claude/skills/
• A project-specific folder: .claude/skills/ inside your project.
• Or, in the Claude apps, go to Settings → Capabilities → Skills and upload the ZIP.

How do you trigger the skill with a natural request?

You do not need to type commands yourself. Describe what you want in plain language and the agent will pick up the skill when the request matches its purpose. Include the message, and the dates if you want them handled. Examples of requests that match this skill:

• Set up an out-of-office reply saying I am away until Jan 20 and to contact backup@company.com for urgent matters.
• Check whether my Gmail vacation responder is on and show me the current message.
• Turn off my Gmail out-of-office reply, I am back at work.

What commands does the skill run?

The recipe uses three gws commands. This is the enable step from the skill, shown so you can see exactly what will run:

• Enable: gws gmail users settings updateVacation with the userId set to me and a JSON body containing enableAutoReply true, a responseSubject, a responseBodyPlainText, and restrictToContacts and restrictToDomain set to false.
• Verify: gws gmail users settings getVacation with the userId set to me.
• Disable: gws gmail users settings updateVacation with enableAutoReply set to false.

What should you check before you use it?

The skill runs scripts and uses the network, because it sends commands to Gmail through gws. Read the message text before the agent sends it, and check the contact details it will reveal to outside senders.

The example sets restrictToContacts and restrictToDomain to false, so the reply goes to anyone who emails the account. If you need to limit replies to specific senders or domains, the agent must edit the command to change those settings. Do not use this skill on a shared or team inbox without a review of the reply text.

• Confirm the message contains only details you are willing to share with outsiders.
• Use the verify step to confirm the reply is on and the text is correct.
• Make sure the disable step runs when you return, so the reply does not continue.

What tips help the skill work well?

Be specific about the message and the dates. The example message in the skill includes a return date and a backup contact, which is a useful pattern to copy. Ask the agent to verify after enabling, so you can see the saved settings rather than assume they took effect.

• Give the return date and a backup contact in your request.
• Ask for a verification step every time you enable the responder.
• Keep a note to turn it off, or ask the agent to do it when you return.